Waterproof garment



Nov. 6, 1951 v; M. F. GORDON 2,573,903

WATERPROOF GARMENT Filed Nov. 21, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEETi Inventor Nov. 6, 1951 v. M. F. GORDQN WATERPROOF GARMENT 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Nov. 21, 1949 ttorney Patented Nov. 6, 1951 WATERPROOF GARMENT Valerie Margaret Frances Gordon, Gamherley, Englandv Application, November 2f, 1949,' Serial No..128','530" In Great Britain January 4, 1949 6" Claims. 1

This invention relates" to waterproof knickers ton wool or other absorbent material which is:

thrown away when soiled, and thereby avoids the use of the usual babies napkins and theconsiderable" amount of work involved in washing. anddrying-them. It has been found that: theuse of waterproofknickers over the usualnapkins keeps the baby too hot andtends to make the babys: skin tender and sore; I have found that special construction isdesirable to avoid thisoverheating and to ensure acomfortable enfolding of the buttocks.

According to the-present invention Iprovide'a garment having separable ends to form thewai'st' wherein the back edge is between 60- and 85 per cent Wider than the front'edge. and the sides are cut away to leave the front edge wider than the narrowest part of the ga-rmentwhich' narrowest part is located between transverse linesone-sixth and one-half of thelengthof thegarment from" the front edge, said narrowest part; being from 5 to 40% smaller than the front edge: Theside edges-maybe curvedin concave manner from the narrow end to the narrowestpart and are straight or convex fromthe wider end to the half-way line across the'garment; The backedgemay be curved'so thattthemiddlepoint of th-e back edge is higher than theremainder of'that edge. Also according to the invention I provide: a garment having separable ends to form the waist, means to adjust the size of the waist by holding the back in any required-gathered: con dition, and mean to adjust the size of the leg holes by holding the back ofitheleg holes inlany required gathered condition; all the'gatheringiba ing at the back of. the body; causing fullnessin the correct place to fit the rounded buttocks...

The means for holding the sideedgesgathered may be effective over lengths located within position 25% ofv the length ofthe-garmentfrom each end thereof measured along. the centre line. The; means for holding the. gathers at each position: may'comprise a pair of tapes, one or twoshems; which tapes emerge from adjacent eyeletzho'les over which the ends of the tapes can be tied; These and other features of the invention will; now be described by way of'example with refers. ence to the accompanying diagrammatic draw-- ings, wherein:

V Figure 1 is a view of one sideof'a garment (in flat condition) made in accordance withthe invention;

Figure 2 is a view of the other side of-sthe: garment; and

Figure 3 is aview'ofthe garmentin the fitted: condition.

The garment consists of a sheet In of plastic material having awid'e end or edge l I and a. narrow: end or edge [2, these ends being separable; but adapted to be attached together at or near: their corners so astoencircle. the waist. Thewide end If isplaced at: the back. and the narrow end I! is placed in front. The back edge. is between and per cent wider than. thefront edge and of" such length as. to bringits corners aroundthe sides of the babys waist. The side edges 13, M; are cut away so that theiend I2 .is wider than the narrowestpart of the gara ment which extends: from [6 to I Twhich is 10-. cated between transverse lines l8, l9 which are one-sixth and one-half? respectively of the. length ofthe garment from thefront edge I2. The sides 13', M are curved fromtheend; 12 to the narrowest part- I! toform a concave shape. From the end' llhoweven the sides l3, l4 are straight or convex down to aboutrthehalfway line IS. The back edge H: is curved in the direction to'make the middle point of. the: back edge higher than; the remainder of that edge. The wide end H is between 80 and -per cent of thezlength of the garment.

This shape forms a largepartxbetween Hi. and l I which comfortably. surrounds the buttocks; and. narrow'part lfito; H which not only engages betweenthelegs but also engages alongsthe groinwithout chafing and providing extending: corners at; both. ends which canbe. connected at the frontof the; sides so. asto engage around the. thighs without completely wrappin in the thighs.- whereby' the movements; of the baby induce air currents intothega-rment which keeps; him cool.

The corners are-connected. together preferably by" press-stud: fasteners but buttons, bows, buckles, and similar-connectors can also be. used.

As: shown in: Figure l press stud sockets 2 i 22, 23-,24- are provided at or closely adjacentto the. edge II. The sockets 22, 23, are spaced apart a distance less than the length of the garment. The; sockets are provided only at the back edge and do. not extend down the leg which would unduly encloseth e. legs and buttocks and would keep thebaby too hot. Press stud spigots 2B, 21, 28-, 29;, arerprovided: ator near-the narrow end [2 and face. in the opposite direction to; the direction; in whichthe, sockets; face in the open conditionof the garment so. that the back corners. canv overlap the.v front. corners. and the spigots; 25,, 211;, 2.8... 29;. fitintocsockets 23 24,. 211, 22,, re-

spectively. The spigots 26, 29, are arranged nearer to the edge 12 than the spigots 2T, 28, so that the overlapped top edge of the end. H is an an angle to the front top straight edge l2. This helps to shape the garment to the groin and keeps the front edge from sagging. This overlap (i. e. from 2| to 22 and 23 to 24) may be about three-quarters of an inch to two and a half inches.

The garment may be reinforced to carry the press stud elements e. g. by strips of canvas, linen, plastic, nylon, or the like, as shown for example at 30 in Figure 1.

As can be seen from Fig. 3, the garment is hung from the waist (the rims I I and I2) so that the size of leghole can vary with the movement of the baby allowing freedom of entry of air. The overlap 2i and 32 allows a telescopic effect and gives as complete enfolding of the baby as is necessary.

The large end at 35 comes well round the back of the thighs but the recessed sides 36 fit the groin.

In order to further shape the garment and at the same time to make it adjustable to the size of the baby, it is provided with means to hold the back of the waist in gathered condition, and means to hold the edges of the garment in gathered condition at the backs of the leg holes but not at the front edges of the leg holes. Thus at the back edge H (Figure 1) two plastic tapes or cords 31 and 33, are provided between the fasteners 22, 23. These tapes are located in a hem which may be formed by turning over the edge of the garment and stitching it as at 49. The tape 3'! passes through an eyelet hole 4| and through the hem in one direction viz., towards the socket 22 where its end is secured by stitching or otherwise. The tape 38 passes through an eyelet 42 and right along the hem in the opposite direction to the tape 3! and is secured at the socket 23. The eyelets are located closely adjacent to each other and by pulling up the tape 38 the edge H can be gathered snugly around the back. The ends of the tapes 31, 38 can then be tied together or the end of the tape 38 may be knotted. Similarly at the sides two tapes 44, 45, pass through eyelets 4t, 41, and two tapes 49, 50, pass through eyelets 5|, 52. The inner ends of the tapes 45, 50, are secured at about the positions !6 so that the gathered length It to 50 is only at the backs of the thighs. This provides the desired rounded shape of the large end of the garment. The front of the garment is not gathered. This helps to hold the pad in place, gives a neat appearance and avoids iritation which would be caused by gathering against the tender inside of the groin. The positions where gathering can start may be arranged at about 25% of the length of the garment from each end thereof i. e. as a maximum from line 52 to line 52. The effective length to be gathered at the side edges may be 30 to 35 per cent of the length of the garment measured along the centre line and is nearer to the end ll than the end l2.

If desired the two tapes may pass side by side through the hem to emerge at adjacent eyelet holes. The eyelets 4!, 42, as shown are near one end of the back edge, and the eyelets 48, 41, 5|, 52, are at the upper ends of the parts to be gathered, these positions being particularly convenient to be reached when the baby is lying on his back. Instead of anchoring the tapes at one end, both ends may pass out of eyelet holes.

The length to be capable of gathering at each side may for a babys garment be three to seven inches in length when stretched and located opposite to a length on the longitudinal centre line between a point six inches from the narrow end and three inches from the curved end.

In the open condition the tape in a babys garment measuring along the centre line from the anchored end to the eyelet, may be within a length two and a half inches from the large curved end and four and a half inches from the small straight end. The straight end in the front is not drawn together and this keeps the front in a more or less flat shape in side view.

The garment may be made double thickness as it is found that a double thickness of thin material guards against tearing whilst being softer than a single thickness of thicker material and tends'to prevent plasticised compositions from becoming hard and brittle. The double thickness can have two spaced lines of stitching near each short end to serve in place of a double hem. "Nyl0n thread would be very suitable for stitching.

Conveniently a baby garment may be 13-16 inches e. g. 14 inches across the straight short end, and the same across the corners at the other short end, 16 to 18 inches, e. g. 1'7 inches along the longitudinal median line, and 6 to 8 inches e. g. '7 inches across the middle. The curved short end may have a curvature about the centre point of the garment. In one de sirable construction the straight end is made from 6 to 10 inches wide while the curved end is 11 to 17 inches wide so that its corners come to the front of the baby near its sides. The wide end may be from 60 to 85 per cent greater than the width at the narrow end. The length of the garment when fiat may be approximately the same as the width of the large end. The garment may be waisted down to 4 to 7 inches i. e. smaller than the width of the narrow end, at a position about three quarters of the Way from the wide end towards the narrow viz., the narrowest part of the garment is near the narrow end.

The sheet material may be plasticised vinyl plastic e. g. a plasticised vinyl chloride or co-polymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate. Alternatively the material may be rubber or rubberised textile, or polyvinyl plastic coated textile, or nylon. The garment may be made partly of plastic and partly of nylon or other woven material.

The garment may be larger if intended for older children or adults.

The invention enables a construction to be provided which by reason of shape and overlapping around the thighs enables air to enter at the thighs and circulate to prevent overheating of the baby but nevertheless provides a waterproof fitting thereby having the advantages of rubber knickers without the disadvantages. The shape of the garment also holds the absorbent padding in place without requiring pockets or other means for holding it. The invention also obviates the need for safety pins with their well known disadvantages such as the mother worrying whether the baby has swallowed a pin if the pin is missing or whether the pin is sticking in the baby if the baby is crying. The use of non-adjustable elastic is also avoided with its attendant disadvantages of being sometimes too tight or, when the rubber ages, too loose, and

not being adjustable. A further advantage of with the waterproof garment minimises the contact area of the babys skin with wet material.

' The garment of the present invention is more quickly applied than an ordinary napkin.

The special method of adjusting waist and leg holes, ascertains that there need be no leakage whatever the size of baby.

I claim:

1. A waterproof knickers-like garment comprising a sheet of waterproof material havin connectible ends to form the waist wherein the back edge is between 50 and 85 per cent wider than the front edge, and is between 80 and 110 per cent of the length of the garment, and the sides are cut away to leave the frontedge wider than the narrowest part of the garment which narrowest part is located between transverse lines one sixth and one half of the length of the garment from the front edge, said narrowest part being from to 40% smaller than the front edge, connecting means for connecting the corners and which means are located only adjacent the back edge and adjacent the front edge, said connecting means comprising fastener means at each corner spaced apart around the waist in such positions that the corners of the back edge considerably overlap the corners of the front edge and can be fixed in the overlap position, draw tape waist adjusting means to adjust the size of the waist by holding the back in any required gathered condition, and draw tape side adjusting means provided in the backs only of the legholes to adjust the size of the legholes by holding the backs of the legholes in any required gather condition; all the gathering being at the back of the body, causing fullness in the correct place to fit the rounded buttocks, the remaining side edges under the crutch and in the groin being free from draw tapes.

2. A waterproof knickers-like garment comprising a sheet of waterproof material having connectible ends to form the waist wherein the back edge is between 50 and 85 per cent wider than the front edge, and is between 80 and 110 per cent of the length of the garment, and the sides are cut away to leave the front edge wider than the narrowest part of the garment which narrowest part is located between transverse lines one sixth and one half of the length of the garment from the front edge, said narrowest part being from 5 to 40% smaller than the front edge, the side edges being progressively narrower from the wide end to the halfway line across the garment, the back edge being curved in the ungathered condition so that the middle point of the back edge is higher than the remainder of that edge, connecting means for connecting the corners and which means are located only adjacent the back edge and adjacent the front edge, said connecting means comprising fastener means at each corner spaced apart around the waist in such positions that the corners of the back edge considerably overlap the corners of the front edge from three quarters of an inch to two and a half inches and can be fixed in the overlap position, the fasteners at the narrow end at each corner being arranged with the outer one nearer to the top front edge than the other so that the overlapped top edge of the wide end is at an angleto the front top straight edge, draw tape waist adjusting means to adjust the size of the waist by holding the back in any required gathered condition, and draw tape side adjusting means provided in the backs only of the legholes to adjust the size of the leg holes by holding the backs of the leg holes in any required gathered condition; all the gathering being at the back of the body, causing fullness in the correct place to fit the rounded buttocks, the remaining side edges under the crutch and in the groin being free from draw tapes, said side adjusting means being effective over lengths located within positions 25% of the length of the garment from each end thereof measured along the centre line, the effective length to be gathered at the side edges being 30 to 35 per cent of the length of the garment measured along the centre line, each of said waist and side adjusting means consisting of a piece of tape contained in a hem, at least one end of the tape passing out of the hem through a hole leaving a free end which can be fixed after adjusting the amount of gathering.

3. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fasteners consist of a pair of press stud elements at each corner arranged so that in the fiat condition of the garment the projecting spigots at one corner face in the opposite direction to the direction in which the corresponding recesses face.

4. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein I at least one edge to be gathered as a hem and two tapes passing through the hem and emerging from two adjacent eyelet holes where the tapes can be fastened at the required adjustment.

5. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein the two tapes are disposed in parts of the hem on either side of the eyelet holes.

6. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein a pair of such eyelet holes are placed near one end of the back edge, and a pair of such eyelet holes are provided at the upper ends of the parts of the edges of the leg holes to be gathered.

VALERIE MARGARET FRANCES GORDON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,195,904 Bernstein Aug. 22, 1916 1,833,960 Alsop Dec. 1, 1931 1,931,357 Potwin Oct. 17, 1933 2,054,310 Warinner Sept. 15, 1936 2,500,255 Lee Mar. 14, 1950 

